The plaza outside Gate 34 at Target Field got a bit more crowded on Sunday as the Twins unveiled an 8-foot bronze statue of Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer.

At a pregame ceremony on the sun-drenched plaza, Mauer was joined by numerous former teammates, including Paul Molitor, Glen Perkins, Corey Koskie and Justin Morneau. Former Twins manager Tom Kelly read the text of a plaque that accompanies the statue.

Then Mauer’s children — twin daughters Maren and Emily, and son Chip — pulled off a black drop cloth to reveal the statue of their dad cast by local artist Bill Mack.

Mauer is depicted in full catcher’s gear, arm raised as if to throw out a would-be base stealer. Twins historian and curator Clyde Doepner had saved the gear Mauer wore during his 2009 MVP season and shared it with Mauer and Mack for the project.

“This means a lot more to me than you guys will ever know,” said Mauer, who noted he was glad he’d worn sunglasses, and not just because of the bright blue sky. “A lot of emotions right now.”

The statue is the eighth to be installed outside the ballpark, joining those honoring Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Kelly and former owners Carl and Eloise Pohlad.

Miranda, Lee trade places

One day after committing a baserunning blunder emblematic of the Twins’ early-season struggles, Jose Miranda found himself once again a member the Triple-A St Paul Saints.

Infielder Brooks Lee was reinstated from the injured list after Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Tigers, so the Twins needed to clear a roster spot.

Miranda might have made the decision easier during the game when he slid short of second base and then began walking off the field, not realizing that the Tigers’ infielder had not stepped on the bag. Miranda was tagged out and one of the day’s few rallies fizzled.

After the game, manager Rocco Baldelli focused on the need to play better in all phases of the game, and that a “shock” might be coming to wake up the clubhouse. But on Sunday, he noted that nobody was making Miranda the scapegoat.

“I would never point to sending a guy down as being a wakeup call for the rest of the group. If anyone takes it like that or … [it] maybe opens someone’s eyes out there, so be it,” Baldelli said.

Miranda, who last season tied the MLB record with hits in 12 consecutive at-bats, is one of many Twins players off to a slow start at the plate. He was hitting just .167 (6 for 36) with one home run, no walks and 13 strikeouts.

“I had a pretty thorough conversation with Jose Miranda when we sent him out,” Baldelli said. “I had a couple of different messages for him. It’s time for him to go down, play well and get his season rolling.”

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